# New Jersey wants higher tobacco tax, not using funds to help smokers quit



## Nurse_Maduro (Oct 23, 2008)

New Jersey currently sports the sixth highest cigarette tobacco tax in the United States, at $2.70 a pack (in addition to the federal tax of $1.01 a pack). Now they want to cash in on little cigars, cigars, loose leaf and smokeless tobaccos, with some advocates of the tax lobbying for uniform taxes across the board for _all tobacco products_.

This, despite the fact that it has recently been reported that New Jersey, which raised $750 million last year from tobacco taxes, has only channeled $1.5 million of that into anti-smoking programs. That's _0.2%_.

The rallying cry behind all of these tobacco taxes is that they're being enacted to help discourage smokers from continuing the habit, as well as new people from starting, because of the health risks associated with smoking, as well as second and third-hand smoke. So why not funnel some of that money into actually helping achieve that goal?

My simple answer: Because it never was about those things. If it were, then a "health" related tax on non-infused, premium cigars and non-aromatic, pure leaf pipe tobaccos would never be considered (cigarette tobacco contains 599 additives and creates over 4000 chemical compounds while burning). New Jersey (like many other states) owed money and needed a way to generate more income, and _tobacco users_ were the answer. And why not? We're the convenient punching bag right now. At least until we start punching back.

Sources:
http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/mlpcig.pdf
N.J. using little of tobacco tax for prevention, report says - Philly.com
New Jersey considers new taxes on alternative tobacco products - pressofAtlanticCity.com: New Jersey News
List of additives in cigarettes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(from cigarhell.com)


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## Enrique1780 (Jan 25, 2010)

Nurse_Maduro said:


> .
> 
> This, despite the fact that it has recently been reported that New Jersey, which raised $750 million last year from tobacco taxes, has only channeled $1.5 million of that into anti-smoking programs. That's _0.2%_.


Pretty telling statistic right there. That's pathetic.


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## Mante (Dec 25, 2009)

Enrique1780 said:


> Pretty telling statistic right there. That's pathetic.


Also it is blatantly typical of the lies & deceit involved everywhere that a tobacco tax is applied.

Alcohol causes more health costs to society but you can be damn certain that will not be taxed to the levels that tobacco is.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

These are the states that derive the greatest amount of their revenue from bad habits:

*10. New Jersey*
*Most Profitable Sin:* Lottery ($924 Million)
*Revenue From Sin:* $2.123 Billion (8th Highest)
*Total State Revenue:* $49 Billion (8th Highest)
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 4.34%
New Jersey is an example of a state in which residents are paying a disproportionate amount of taxes for their vices. Although residents gamble, use alcohol and tobacco, the percent of the population that gambles, drinks or smokes is low compared to the national average. The state has the 18th lowest rate of binge drinking in the country and the ninth lowest rate of cigarette smoking. Despite these low rates, high taxes boost the state's revenue from these activities. New Jersey generates the eighth highest revenue from tobacco and the 17th greatest amount from alcohol sales. The greatest moneymaker for the state, though, is the lottery. In 2010 the state made just under $1 billion through the lottery, the fifth greatest amount among all the states.

*9. New Hampshire*
*Most Profitable Sin:* Tobacco ($170 Million)
*Revenue From Sin:* $248 Million (12th Lowest)
*Total State Revenue:* $5.5 Billion (3rd Lowest)
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 4.54%
New Hampshire has the ninth smallest population in the country, with a small budget to match. In a single year, the state collected only $248 million combined from taxes and revenue related to tobacco, alcohol, and the lottery However, because the state's total revenue is just $5.5 billion, the third smallest in the country, its sin taxes equal 4.5% of New Hampshire's budget, a larger percentage than 40 other states. New Hampshire does not have any taxable gambling, and collected only $12.5 million in alcohol taxes in 2008, the fifth smallest amount by any state. Most of "The Granite State's" revenue from sin derives from tobacco - the state collected nearly $170 million from cigarette taxes in the most recent year for which data is available. The state has one of the biggest populations of smokers in the U.S. It sells an average of 116 packs per person per year, the third most in the country. On top of this, New Hampshire has the 16th highest tobacco excise tax at $1.28 per pack. According to the New York Times, the state's cigarette taxes have not always been so high - in 2005, they were only 52-cents per pack. The state Legislature is considering a bill which would reduce the price per pack by ten cents, a measure which opponents say would cost the state millions of dollars.

*8. Illinois* 
*Most Profitable Sin:* Tobacco ($827 Million)
*Revenue From Sin:* $2.157 Billion (7th Highest)
*Total State Revenue:* $2.157 Billion (7th Highest) 
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 4.55%
Although Illinois' sin taxes are by no means small compared to other states, the main reason for the state's massive "sin revenue" is the large numbers of people in the state paying these taxes. The average person in the state pays $168 in sin taxes and lottery tickets per year. While this number may seem like a lot, it is only the 19th largest amount in the country. Even tobacco taxes, which contribute the most to the state budget, are not especially high. As of January 2011, Illinois had a tax of $0.98 on a pack of cigarettes, the 20th lowest tax in the country. The sheer number of smokers, however, results in tobacco generating the most in sin revenue. There is a significant chance the amount made by the state through tobacco will increase in the near future. A $1-per-pack tax hike was approved by a state Senate committee in March of 2011. The tax has yet to be approved by the House.

*7. Michigan*
*Most Profitable Sin:* Tobacco ($1.08 Billion)
*Revenue From Sin:* $2.242 Billion (6th Highest)
*Total State Revenue:* $45.7 Billion (10th Highest)
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 4.91%
Michigan collects more than $2.2 billion from alcohol, tobacco, gambling and the lottery, which accounts for nearly 5% of the total state budget. The Great Lakes State has an even distribution of revenue from each of the four vices. Michigan collected more than $700 million from the state lottery in 2010, tenth most in the country, and $311 million from casino taxes, the 8th most in the U.S. The biggest portion of Michigan's sin revenue comes from tobacco. In 2008 (the most recent year of available data) the state collected the third most in the U.S. from tobacco taxes - more than $1.08 billion. The state has the 11th highest cigarette tax in the country, at $2.00 per pack.

*6. Pennsylvania*
*Most Profitable Sin:* Gambling ($1.32 Billion)
*Revenue From Sin:* $3.547 Billion (2nd Highest)
*Total State Revenue:* $70.4 Billion (4th Highest)
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 5.04%
Pennsylvania is the sixth largest state by population, has the fourth largest revenue, and has the second largest revenue from sin taxes. These taxes end up providing more than 5% of the state's total revenue. The main source of this money is gambling. Pennsylvania makes more money through gaming taxes than any other state in the nation, even Nevada. In 2010, Pennsylvania made about $1.3 billion through taxing slots parlors. Nevada, by comparison, made about $835 million. Pennsylvania currently has ten casinos, Las Vegas has 260. The Keystone State levies a 55 percent tax on slot machine revenue, however, while Nevada's tax is only eight percent. Apparently, this tax has not done much to dissuade gamblers. Revenue from slot machines rose from $13.4 million in 2006-07 to just below $1.75 billion in 2008-09, according to the Center for Gaming Research.

*5. South Dakota*
*Most Profitable Sin:* Lottery ($117 Million)
*Revenue From Sin:* $212 Million (11th Lowest)
*Total State Revenue:* $3.8 Billion (The Lowest)
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 5.63%
The National Association of State Budget Officers estimates that South Dakota collected less revenue than any state last year. That is why the state's $212 million collected from "sin" is the fifth biggest percentage of government income in the country. The state collects the 19th most in gaming taxes in the U.S., although this is primarily because 29 states do not collect taxes on their casinos at all. The state's biggest source of sin-based income is the South Dakota Lottery, which generated roughly $117 million in revenue last year. The state's cigarette tax is $1.53 per pack, roughly triple that of North Dakota. The state's alcohol taxes are also higher than most, at 27 cents per gallon of beer. According to the South Dakota newspaper The Capitol Journal, the state's revenues from video lotteries actually dropped as much as 15% last year, possibly because of a smoking ban in casinos and bars which was enacted in November.

*4. Indiana*
*Most Profitable Sin:* Gambling ($875 Million)
*Revenue From Sin:* $1.628 Billion (10th Highest)
*Total State Revenue:* $26.7 Billion (23rd Highest)
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 6.11%
Despite having the 15th largest population, Indiana only has the 23rd largest state revenue. The state has the tenth largest revenue from sin taxes, however, and the fourth largest percentage of total revenue deriving from sin. This is largely due to gambling, from which the state made the second largest amount among all the states in 2010. Indiana's 13 casinos all have a graduated tax rate of 15% to 40% - meaning that the more you make the more you're taxed - as well as a $3 per patron admission tax, according to the American Gaming Association. Together, this brought in $875 million in 2010 - more than Nevada but less than Pennsylvania. Gambling is not the only major "sin" related revenue for the state, however. About 23.1% of residents in Indiana smoke cigarettes, the fifth highest rate in the country. In 2008, the state made $520 million from tobacco taxes, the ninth greatest amount in the country, despite having the 21st lowest tobacco tax rate.

*3. Delaware*
*Most Profitable Sin:* Lottery ($275 Million)
*Revenue From Sin:* $659 Million (25th Lowest)
*Total State Revenue:* $8.7 Billion (11th Lowest)
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 7.55%
f you were to take the revenue Delaware collects in a single year from gaming, the lottery, tobacco, and alcohol, and were to divide it among the state's 897,000 residents, each person would receive $733. This amount is more than double nearly every other state in the country. Delaware residents bought 122 packs per person in a single year (the second most in the country. The state also has the sixth highest percentage of binge drinkers in the U.S. as well. Taxes for both of these substances are either average or below average, including a mere 16 cents per gallon of beer, but the state makes up for this in sheer volume of use. While alcohol and tobacco are significant sources of income, most of Delaware's profits from sin come from its lottery, with which it earned $275 million last year, and casino taxes, which the state ranks 12th in the country for annual revenue. On May 11, according to the News Journal, the state Senate approved a measure to legalize medical marijuana, which will perhaps soon become another major source of sin revenue for Delaware and other states like it. The bill is awaiting an expected signature by Governor Jack Markell.

*2. Rhode Island* 
*Most Profitable Sin:* Lottery ($345 Million)
*Revenue From Sin:* $706 Million (22nd Highest)
*Total State Revenue:* $8.1 Billion (9th Lowest)
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 8.66%
Despite being one of the smallest states, with one of the smallest revenues, Rhode Island makes the seventeenth greatest amount among all states through its lottery. Just under half of all the money the state makes through the taxes considered for this list, which constitute 8.66% of the state's total revenue, comes from the lottery. The state also made $114 million from tobacco taxes in 2008, which is a relatively large amount considering the size of the state's population. Rhode Island charges a tax of $3.46 for a pack of 20 cigarettes -- the second highest amount in the country, behind New York. Each year, the average Rhode Islander pays $671 in sin tax. The only state in which residents pay a larger share is Delaware.

*1. Nevada*
*Most Profitable Sin:* Gambling ($835 Million)
*Revenue From Sin:* $1.01 Billion (13th Highest)
*Total State Revenue:* $7.9 Billion (12th Lowest)
*Percent Total Revenue From Sin:* 12.83%
*Most Profitable Sin:* Nevada's revenue from sin is 12.83% of its total budget, which is nearly 4% higher than Rhode Island's and greater than the percentages of New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Illinois combined. Not surprisingly, most of Nevada's income comes from gambling - the state collected more than $835 million, the third-most in the country. In terms of other sin taxes, the state ranks average both in alcohol and tobacco taxes. Interestingly, the Nevada is one of only seven to not have a state lottery. According to the Las Vegas Journal-Business Review, state lawmakers proposed a bill to create one, but it failed last month in the legislature.


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## Mante (Dec 25, 2009)

HaHaHaaaaaa..... Total Australian Govt Revenue from tobacco tax in 2010? Remember what our population is?



Wait for it......







Wait......





$5.40 Billion!


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## Nurse_Maduro (Oct 23, 2008)

Absolute insanity.

Tony, mind if I ask where that list comes from? Did you write it, or collate it from other sources? As my daughter would say, "that's a crapton of work!"


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## Tritones (Jun 23, 2010)

Tashaz said:


> Also it is blatantly typical of the lies & deceit involved everywhere that a tobacco tax is applied.
> 
> *Convenience food *causes more health costs to society but you can be damn certain that will not be taxed to the levels that tobacco is.


I won't say I fixed that for you, but I thought I'd add it to the discussion, and since the rest of your reply was so perfectly in line with what I would have said, I went this route.

Besides, it's always fun morphing your posts ... :mischief:


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Nurse_Maduro said:


> Absolute insanity.
> 
> Tony, mind if I ask where that list comes from? Did you write it, or collate it from other sources? As my daughter would say, "that's a crapton of work!"


All the news that's fit to print!
I have many friends and family in Jersey i read it all the time!

The 10 States That Profit Most From Sin - 24/7 Wall St. - Business - The Atlantic


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## Nurse_Maduro (Oct 23, 2008)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> All the news that's fit to print!
> I have many friends and family in Jersey i read it all the time!
> 
> The 10 States That Profit Most From Sin - 24/7 Wall St. - Business - The Atlantic


Sweetness. I'm always looking for new sources. Thanks


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